Ep. 216 Chemical Trespass in Illinois: How Herbicides Are Impacting Native Trees and Ecosystems | #GoodGrowing

In this episode of the Good Growing Podcast, hosts Chris Enroth and Emily Swihart are joined by horticulture educator Ryan Pankau to unpack a 2024 study from the Illinois Natural History Survey. The topic? Chemical trespass—how herbicides and other pesticides are drifting into Illinois’ natural areas and impacting native ecosystems, impacting a keystone group of trees - oaks.

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/44Ue4HbGS7Y

Skip to what you want to know: 
00:33:12 Hello Emily!
01:35:06 Welcome, Ryan Pankau!
02:18:18 What report are we talking about? Understanding the extent and consequences of chemical trespass for Illinois ecosystems
02:57:12 How has the landscape of Illinois changed historically to where we are today?
10:16:15 What is chemical trespass?
12:58:18 What organizations conducted this study?
16:49:15 What type of data was collected? What species seemed to be most impacted?
19:14:23 What is the ecological impact of pesticide trespass in our forests?
24:30:24 Does this just impact trees on the edges of fields or throughout a forest?
25:20:02 What did the data show in the collection samples?
27:31:09 What was the percentage of chemical trespass observed?
29:56:00 Can we solely rely on visual assessment to determine levels of herbicide trespass?
33:32:06 What they didn't find much of - dicamba and neonics
34:46:00 What does a tree that has been impacted by herbicide drift look like?
40:32:17 The importance of the lab tests in this study.
41:02:16 What do you do when your tree is impacted by herbicide trespass?
48:50:01 Can you prevent this damage or is there a way to protect trees and gardens from being damaged?
56:51:03 While there seemed to be a big focus on herbicide trespass, the study found a lot of fungicide in the later season samples. What is the impact of fungicide?
1:01:12:15 Our key takeaways from this report

Contact us! 
Chris Enroth: [email protected]
Emily Swihart [email protected]
Ken Johnson: [email protected]
 
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Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.

All photos by Chris Enroth
Barnyard Bash: freesfx.co.uk
 
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